What a Day

Yesterday I took Winston (the new dog) to the vet for the first time. He had already been once before we bought him to get his first booster and heartworm medication but it was MY first time to take him. I went home early from work so I could eat some lunch before driving over there. It had been raining outside and Winston kept coming in and of the doggie door. He was having a blast. It was almost time to go so I was wrapping up my lunch when he came charging through the doggie door and jumped up to get his paws and face in my lap:

Good job Winston, good.job. So, after a change of clothes we headed out the door to drive to the vet. After turning onto the main road I began to smell something suspicious from the backseat, a.k.a it smelled like poop. In my attempts to determine whether my dog had just pooped in my backseat or if it was just another bad case of "laborgas" I looked behind me to check....and drifted onto the median=I am not to be trusted. Praise God there were no signs in front of me and no cars around me and only minor damage to the right tire. And from that point on Winston could have been chewing out the entire interior of the car and I wouldn't have checked. He was on his own. Thankfully, the experience left both of us a little shaken so he laid down. Oh, and he hadn't pooped. 

After parking the car Winston and I walked down the sidewalk and into the door. The receptionist wasn't manning her desk so I was just standing there thinking how it was weird to have a carpeted waiting room in a vet clinic when I realized that I had accidently walked into the "Second Thought" Laser Tattoo removal office (the door right before the vet office)...oops...The good news is that they have bad customer service so I was able to get out of there before the receptionist came to assist me. Whew....The actual visit to the vet went quite well so that had a happy ending. Aside from this mean girl dog who growled at Winston there were no incidents. 

When we got home I decided to start a fire and had a good start when I realized I hadn't opened the flue (yes, again). Quickly douse the flame and yank as hard as my two hands can to get down that flue! Start over.....no fire until my husband gets home because I couldn't get my wet wood to now burn+make dinner+start laundry. 

All good days must come to an end and thanks to Winston's booster shot he was wiped out like I was. Bedtime is always a good time. 

Fall Days

The nights are getting chilly around here and as I mentioned in my last post we were eagerly waiting to use our fireplace. This dream was realized that Saturday night ....just not with the romantic ambience we imagined. My husband had started a fire, and boy was it beautiful, all bright and crackling....until the house started to FLOOD with thick smoke and our fire alarm went off....and we realized we forgot to open the flu......hilarious panic ensued. I stood under the fire alarm, fanning it with a gift bag we had just purchased as my husband threw open both doors and ran from the sink to the fire with glasses of water. We put out the lovely fire and had to start from scratch with our soaked fireplace. Thankfully, persistence won

This month we also decided to purchase a puppy

SO cute, cuddly and incorrigible. Our first walk he kept whining and sitting down. Basically he was not a fan. This should get better with time though, once he gets used to having something around his neck. We took him to PetSmart for his first obedience class....which he slept thru, while the other puppies barked and played with each other. In his defence, it was basically just the instructor answering questions so he didn't really need to be awake. It was super helpful for us though. 

We set up a system so he has access to the yard and his crate inside while we are at work. We put the crate in front of the doggie door so he either goes outside or into the crate. We wedged the open door of the crate into the door so he can't get to the rest of the house. Yesterday Chris and I were greeted as we came home from work by Winston....

Annnd....he somehow managed to squeeze his body under the crate door and had apparently had free reign of the house for who knows how long. No accidents though, so, there's the good news. The only thing he appeared to have chewed the snot out of was our rug in front of the door going to the garage. The corner is basically gone. Considering the mischief he might have gotten into we felt extremely relieved. Basically, our dog is a ninja. We believe we have conquered this problem by closing the inner door and putting things behind it so he can't push it open. Time will tell. Oh my...good thing my husband and I both have a healthy sense of humor....and don't own expensive things.....

I have no doubt that this dog will supply countless stories so stay tuned.

Randoms

On Monday my husband and I were FINALLY able to sell our leather loveseat. It had just been hangin' out in our garage since we moved and we were really ready to sell it so we could fit both cars in the garage, oh and get money=bonus. There were at least 6 people who inquired about it and then we never heard from them again. There was even one lady who called and said her daughter would be by to pick it up after a trip to Lowe's.....nope. I could see that going down: Elderly Lady: "I found you a sofa!" Daughter: " What? Mom, no, I don't want to buy that sofa." EL: "Yes you do! It is nice, I spoke to them already. You want to go pick it up tonight while I watch the kids?" D: "Whatever, sure." Meanwhile at the Garcia house......

 And.....no one....

Thankfully we finally got a legitimate call over the weekend and the sofa is gone.

Last night I decided to try a new recipe:

Italian Pepperoni Quiche. It was delicious. 2 hours and two tummy aches later we realized that possibly this meal was not for us.....looks like we are having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch instead of left overs.....unfortunate. I am still not sure why our stomachs were unable to effectively digest this dish when we eat pizza just fine but, oh well....As a side note, can I just say that easy open has never meant it is easily opened, EVER. The frozen veggies you use for this recipe came in an "easy open" bag....which I had to cut in half....with scissors. I can't be the only one....

The weather this weekend should be much cooler and I think we will actually get to light a fire in our fireplace! Basically, that makes my whole weekend. Also, I can finally wear all of the fall outfits I have been planning in my head over the summer. Again, I can't be the only one.....

On Sunday night we met a few more of our neighbors including a 13 year old girl who informed us that we didn't need to worry about the people that speed through our neighborhood because her dad knows who they are and "he shows up on their door step with a baseball bat." Oh good....I feel better....right.I am assuming she is not serious. Although, I too get angry at the speeders, but, still.....

Happy Friday!

Cafe Girl

So, I just had an awkward moment...really several minutes. This week almost everyone at work is in Dallas at a client conference. That means all of the painting and construction to the third floor of our office building is happening while they are out. The powers that be also thought it would be the perfect week to build a short wall...right where my desk was.

I moved all of my stuff over to another desk, but that obviously did not remove me from the sounds and smells of the construction going on directly behind my new location. In an effort to avoid a paint high, I relocated to the cafe on the first floor of our building. I have been sitting down there at a corner table all week and actually kind of enjoying the peace and quiet.

Apparently my movements did not go unnoticed. Unbeknownst to me, the finance people, that also sit on the first floor, have been wondering who I am. Today while I was sitting down there for lunch (I had a temporary reprieve because I am watching the front desk today) someone from finance came up to me, and with real concern in his voice, asked if I had a desk. OMG. After I had explained my situation he told me that they had been talking about me in finance and wondering who the girl was in the cafe.

I am now the "cafe girl". I guess there could be worse labels.

Some New Things

Well, it has been a very busy month in the Garcia household. We moved. Better yet, we moved into a house. OUR house. As in, we own it (technically this “owning” thing will take place over the next 30 years, but who wants to hear about that?). Last week I worked half days each day so I could go home and pack and clean. Then, when Chris got home we would eat dinner and pack and clean. I had not been that physically tired since I volunteered at a summer kid’s camp for a week.

We signed the paperwork on Friday, August 23^rd. As we were filling it out I pointed out that the zip code listed for our new home was 65807 and Google maps said it was 65802. I was told that 65807 was the zip from the postal service and it was what was provided by the previous homeowners so it was correct. I was still inwardly questioning. I was also upset considering I had spent over an hour changing the address for the DMV, my credit card, my magazine subscription, etc. Not looking forward to doing all of that over again. I had also put 65802 as my forwarding address for the United States Postal Service. Great. That afternoon I decided to start with the USPS. I got online, changed the zip and hit submit. It was automatically changed to 65802. 3 more tries and the same results. 2 zip code look ups with different ways of typing in the address and the results were the same. So, guess what:

Unfortunately, that also means we had to go in and sign ALL of the paperwork again. Kind of a joy kill.

Being tired and moving does not do good things for my mind. On Monday morning we make it to the stop sign at the end of our street when I remember I forgot my fob to get into work. We turn around, C opens the garage, I run in, grab it, run out and we head for the end of the street. We aren’t even past the mail box before I realize I forgot my glasses. Repeat. We finally leave. I start freaking out about how I am making us late. C informs me that I need to relax. His actual words were, “We’re fine! Gosh, you’re a basket case.” True.

This past weekend my parents came to help us finish moving the big stuff and organize our stuff. Basically, my mom made my living room look like Pottery Barn=I may never move anything, ever. Just kidding….maybe….

 

Other highlights:

·         Ripping chunks of paint off the walls removing our whiteboard from the kitchen wall in the apartment----Having the apartment manager not notice/care…whew!

·         Driving all the way to Clever for Chinese food only to discover the restaurant was closed for the holiday

·         Discovering Rocco’s Italian Restaurant in Republic because we were too hungry to drive back to Springfield. (It is really good)

·         Killing the spiders that waited to come out until it was MY turn to shower.

I had a moment when we took the last item out of our apartment. 2 years. We grew a lot together in the last 2 years in that apartment, just as we had in the previous 2 years in our first apartments. In this apartment C lost his job and we watched God provide a temporary job for him immediately and a permanent position right when we needed him to have one. God brought a new job for me when I needed it and throughout the year provided the money to make up for the pay cut I took to work in it. Then, God provided a pay raise for me. We suffered disappointment, anger, sadness as well as happiness and deep, deep joy. I am so excited for this next chapter in our lives; I know that God has greater things in store for us!

That Doesn't Look Right.....

Hello faithful readers!

Last night things were going a little wrong in the kitchen. Every week I plan a menu and shop accordingly. I find this saves frustration and keeps things a little cheaper at the grocery store. It also helps me to not give in as often to the impulse to eat out since I already know what I am making and I planned it because it sounded tasty. Last night's dish was stir-fry. I also decided that it would be nice to try to make corn muffins from a recipe I "pinned" during our Daniel Fast. Now, I promise I followed the recipe, step by step. I didn't have any unsweetened almond or rice milk on hand (let's be serious, we aren't those people) so I used the same amount of my 1% milk and substituted clover honey for date honey(not even sure what date honey would look like) and called it even. The recipe then told me to stir until smooth. So, I stirred....uhm,  "smooth" was not happenin'. What I had was what appeared to be a bowl of yellow sand with corn in it. Not wanting to mess with the recipe by adding stuff I decided to just bake the muffins and see what happened. Needless to say what I baked turned out to be corn sand muffins. Bread and butter anyone? YES.

We also managed to get chicken juice all over the floor. We placed the chicken on the Foreman Grill and when we turned around the melting water from the now melted ice that was on the partially frozen chicken breast was now mixing with the natural chicken, er,stuff, and dripping onto the floor. Ahhh! E-Coli is dripping on the floor!!!!! Well, not really, but still....GROSSSSSS!!!!! Disinfect!!!!!

I also managed to spray myself in the face with Soy Sauce. Excellent.



Thankfully, dinner was quite tasty and I am eating the leftovers for lunch. :)

False Sense of Security...

I just had one of the most horrible experiences of my life. And yet hilarious at the same time. I was sitting in the cafeteria watching a PBS video on the Freedom Riders. My lunch was almost over, and really I should have stopped, but I was just waiting for a good stopping point. As I was about to see what how much time had passed so I could start there next time when a HUGE something dropped from above me and landed on my laptop. I immediately shoved my laptop away from me and moved the opposite direction…forgetting that I still had headphones in my ears and they were plugged into my laptop. In the process I had shoved my empty plate onto the ground, praise God it landed right side up…I had eaten left over pasta…After I had removed the headphones I calmly checked my work email on my phone so if anyone came in they would think I was just checking something on my phone before I gathered my things. The “thing” was a humungous cricket. Somehow it managed to get flipped on its back when it crawled off my laptop. There it was…kicking its little legs, trying to turn over. I pulled my laptop slowly away in case any sudden movements would make it flip over and jump at me. Then I gathered my plate and paper towel off the ground. I walked calmly away, leaving the gross thing still struggling on the table.

 

I have no idea how loud the sound was that I made when it fell on my computer. I didn’t scream…but I definitely made a sound. Also, I am SO thankful it didn’t fall on my head. There would have been screaming if that had been the case. OMG. I still feel a little shaken up.

 

 

Aaaah, Life.

I decided to just take a few moments from what promises to be a busy day to just write about my recent 'goings on'.

This morning when I arrived at work I realized that I forgot my lunch. Saddened but quick to adapt I pulled out my fish coin purse (courtesy of one of my sister's trips) and decided that I would just have to go to the snack shelf upstairs in IT to see what I could buy that would satisfy me and hopefully be more nutritional than  just stuffing my face with chocolate all afternoon. Not that I would object to that prospect, I just don't want to gain 5 pounds today. Suddenly, I remembered that the coffee shop in the main building has quiche. I LOVE quiche ( as a few of my readers recently discovered I love quiche to the point of distraction; you know who you are). Guess what I just got yesterday on my way out of chapel in honor of our company winning a workplace safety award? A gift certificate to said coffee shop! SCORE.

My husband and I are trying to get back into our workout routine after completely abandoning it over the holidays, excusing it's absence during our fast in January and complaining of being  "too busy" through the entire month of February. By March we stopped even trying to justify our behavior and just lollygagged in laziness until one morning I woke up and my dress pants were workin' a little too hard to stay buttoned. We have been working out 3 times a week since then. Early this morning I was working out to an exercise video and using a large can of  hominy and large lion bookend for weights. Possibly it's time for an investment?


(I am kidding of course, I am fully aware that I am far from being overweight)

In other news, I recently had a filling and it took 4 hours for me to feel my face and tongue again. As this was right before dinner, and I like eating, we had a problem. My filling was at 4:30pm and by 6:30pm I was hitting angry hungry. My husband bought me a milkshake so I could at least get my tummy filled. At about 8 it was finally mostly better. At which time I devoured 4 chicken nuggets and a microwave dinner. I was just about to start snacking on a bag of reeses' pieces when my husband spotted me. Dismayed at the fact that I was about to stuff my face with candy having received a filling only hours ago he shamed me into putting them away. "At least wait 24 hours!" he said. Party pooper.

Happy Friday eve everyone!

Been Waitin' For Months....

In less than a week my sister will be married! Ever since the planning began for her wedding I have been referring to it in conversation as "THE wedding" as though it was the only wedding happening for anyone, ever. Possibly confusing for others, but I knew what I was talking about. My husband and I are super excited and ready to get the show on the road. We are also excited to take vacation for it and as he put it, "Get out of Dodge."

There will be a lot of people in the house so we will all get to enjoy closeness and community.

(If you haven't seen "You Can't Take it With You" you are missing out)

Thankfully, my sister has awesome friends who do not "look only to their own interests but also to the interest of others" (my own paraphrase). Basically, we will all be leaving our attitudes at the door.

It is going to be SOOOO great!!!!

It's Been A While....

Hello faithful readers!

I know it has been a long time since my last post. So, for those of you that may have noticed, thanks for caring. :)

My time has largely been taken up by work and what felt like an endless saga to wrest my bridesmaid dress from a seemingly endless pit of lies and confusion that is House of Brides. And no, my language is NOT too dramatic. Trust me. What began as a seemingly innocent slip on their part (by that I mean not letting me know after 4 weeks that they no longer work with the designer that makes me dress so it was not being made, ANYWHERE), turned into a mountain of customer service inquiries only to be told one untruth after another. These are all recorded transactions, seriously, I e-mailed myself a copy of the chats. They are summarized below. Timeline:

January 11th-Order Dress
February 11th-Check in with Ashley in customer service and am told designer no longer makes dress. They can custom make the dress in house if I send an e-mail authorizing them to do so. I send the e-mail and Ashley let's me know it is received but I should receive an e-mail from the ordering department in 7 days letting me know they have received my order
February 18th-Still have not received e-mail from ordering department. Check in with customer service, and get Anne. She says they never received my authorization e-mail. I re-send said e-mail and ask her to e-mail her response while I am on with her to make sure it is actually received. Receive confirmation from her that the order is received and has been forwarded to ordering department.
March 1st-Check in on dress and get Max, who tells me my dress is in the cutting department and should be shipped no later than mid-April
April 15th-Check in on status of dress shipment and am told by Anna that the dress fabric was backordered (how was it in the cutting department without fabric?) so the dress will be shipped according to the event date, so within a couple of weeks. (Panic rises)
April 23rd-Check in on dress and am told it should be received in their warehouse that day and will be shipped immediately  As I paid for priority shipping it should arrive within 2 to 5 days. I should receive an e-mail from the shipping department when it is shipped. (Panic still rising)
April 24th-Never received e-mail so I check in again on dress. I am told there is a new note and the dress will be shipped April 25th (Panicked AND angry)
April 29th-I call asking about the shipment of my dress. Customer Service tells me it was on schedule to ship. When I ask why I didn't receive notice of shipment I am told it can take a couple of days to receive that e-mail. (Despite their shipping policy which states an e-mail will be sent immediately when the order is shipped)
April 30th-I submit a complaint with the Better Business Bureau
May 2nd-I am told I have been issued a refund

Thank.You.

In the meantime, I went to Dillards under instructions to go ahead and find another dress.Having covered this shopping trip in prayer I was totally blessed when I found a dress that would work and also came in 4 other sizes that were reasonably close enough to be tailored without too much trouble for the other bridesmaids. Cue Hallelujah chorus.Silent Monks Singing Hallelujah Chorus

Take Your Daughter to Work Day!

Today is "Take Your Daughter to Work Day". I used to LOVE this day. Although, because my sister and I were home schooled until high school we still had to bring some school work with us. We would get dressed up and prepared to generally be made much of by all of the nurses and front desk workers. What's not to like? PLUS, a lunch out with Dad=BONUS. I remember following Dad around, meeting with patients (after asking if it was okay) and trying not to look as he removed stitches. If the patients agreed we could also see X-rays as he reviewed them with the patients and once we even got to sit in on a carpal tunnel surgery (from behind a curtain via monitor)!  The only way my sensitive stomach handled this was due to the fact that thanks to the modern use of cameras we skipped to viewing the inner parts of her arm rather than seeing any blood. That was good considering the fact that I once almost passed out at a national battlefield when the historian discussed surgery during the Civil War. Mom would usually come pick us up in the early afternoon because by then she knew we would be bored with the occasional patient visit and side task assigned to us by Dad. At least we should have been finished with our school work so we would get to go home and play. I mostly remember being very proud of my Dad. He made us feel special and it was evident that he cared about his patients and was good at what he was doing.

In other news, I was forced to kill a spider in the bathroom on Monday. Rounding the corner of my stall to wash my hands it was just there, dangling from its web, ready to land on the sink. I stood there for a moment, contemplating just skipping the hand washing and fleeing, when I realized I would probably have to use the facilities later so I better just take care of it now. Thankful for my decision to wear my boots that morning I removed my right shoe and whacked, as hard as I could at the spider. I don't think it knew what hit it. It landed in the sink, alive, so I smashed it so hard it stuck to my boot. I rinsed it off and then it still didn't go down the sink. I had to splash water until it went down the drain, feeling that creepy feeling on my spine and imagining it coming back to life and jumping onto my hand. I didn't turn the water off until right before I left. Naturally, my entire week has involved paranoia with every visit to the restroom. Stupid spider.

In addition, this entire week has felt like winter. But only in the morning. Tricky.

Thursday Thoughts...

Indeed.

On Monday I wore my new, shiny, fake patent leather pumps that I had purchased on Saturday. 1 hour into my day they had a chip in the outer material exposing the white material underneath. By the end of the day they had two chips in them and I could no longer feel the balls of my feet. Therefore that evening I returned the shoes and visited every major department store in the mall as well as Rack Room Shoes. Nothin'.

On Tuesday I dressed for the 65 degree weather as forecasted  I was unaware that it would only be 65 for about 10 minutes, around 2:00pm. Otherwise it was cold, windy and 45 degrees.

Last night when I picked Chris up from work I was starving and feeling the effects of a sinus pressure headache. I had two coupons for $2.99 meals from KFC to try their new boneless original recipe chicken so, rather than me cooking that's what we did. By the time we got home I was hitting grumpy hungry and I am pretty certain so was my husband. Therefore, you can imagine our horror when we opened what was supposed to meal #2 to a box full of biscuits. I love biscuits. I just also love eating chicken, and I REALLY love getting what I ordered and paid for and not driving for 15 minutes through Springfield traffic to be DENIED.

This morning I drove to work with my husband's parking pass in MY car....ooops....

So, basically, every day this week there has been something that has caused me to feel frustration, shake my head and thankfully, see the humor. In addition, aren't we all happy that our joy comes from the Lord, instead of our circumstances? Just a thought. :)

Happy Friday Eve everyone!

Link Up- A Letter to Your 10 Year Old Self

Hello friends, I am linking up with Dipped in Folly to write a letter to my 10 year old self. I hardly remember being 10 and I am pretty sure it is for a reason. Anyway, here goes!

Dear 10 year old Self,

There are a few things you should know:

1. Don't cut your hair off, seriously, it will get huge and frizzy
2. Two words: Hair. Product.Also, don't brush your curly hair when you get out of the shower, brush it before and let it curl when wet
3. High School won't be what you think it will be so try to enjoy being 10
4. I hate to crush your dreams but you won't find Narnia in your closet, you need to let it go...

I know you are eager to please and define yourself based on the opinions of others. Don't. You are unique and worthy of love simply because of how God made you. Don't compare yourself to your sister or your friends. You just be you. Promise. Don't worry so much. Don't be ashamed to laugh loudly. Finally, you WILL grow up and marry the man of your dreams, God has that covered.

Sincerely,
Your 27 year old self

Tuesday Thoughts

This past Saturday on our way to Walmart I noticed my husband looking at his drivers side window and trying to get something to fly off of it. I assumed it was a lady-bug or some other small harmless bug that will frequently catch a ride on the way to our destination  When we pulled into our parking space and I could see what it was....a HUGE yellow jacket.....WOW....now, if it had been me we probably wouldn't have made it so calmly. I would have heard that THING thud against my window, squealed like the girly girl I am and possibly swerved. I then would have crawled out the passenger side door to avoid even the possibility of it flying off in my direction. My brain refuses to let me let go of the notion that all stinging insects are plotting  evil.

I have stopped pinning work out ideas from pinterest. All of the pictures are these totally fit/ripped women and their exercise routine (provided below) got them that way. Bull. They don't eat like I do, I can promise you that. So already I know my abs will never look like that, I don't care what they say. They definitely work out more than I have time/desire to and they most likely eat smoothies, veggie burgers and zero sugar...nevermind....I didn't want to look that "muscley" anyway, so.there. Now, if I could look like that after working out 3 times a week and only taking half of a brownie that would be awesome. As that is not the case I will be eating the WHOLE brownie. Thank you.

This weekend I got a new pair of sneakers and when I got to the car I switched shoes like a 5 year old so I could wear my news ones .

That is all

Guest Post! Cows and Chicken: A Cautionary Tale

Please enjoy this fabulous guest post from Danielle Pemberton!

During the Christmas season Aaron (her fiancé) and I got really excited about the peppermint milkshakes at Chick-fil-A….I mean, REALLY excited. Unfortunately we only got to enjoy one so we thought it would be a good idea in February to see if they maybe still had them around. We knew it was a long shot, but we had to try. The last time we were there they had the cow roaming around and saying hello to kids (well, not literally of course, because the cow can’t talk) and bothering adults. We thought it was a special thing, but it was there again when we went on our desperate quest for a peppermint shake.

When we first arrived the cow sat at our booth and that was awkward because, as previously stated, the cow can’t actually say anything and you can only do a halfhearted laugh for so long. Then it gave Aaron a weird hug and finally left the table. We thought that would be the end of it. We were not that lucky. We had been enjoying our time and stayed talking after we had finished our food, but just as we were wrapping up the cow came out again. I saw it head behind me and didn't really monitor where it went. Then, just as I was taking a last sip of my coke it put its furry hands over my eyes….and left them there….for a long time….

As most people know, I don't like to be touched by strangers. So I really didn't like being touched by furry hands that have been who knows where. Also, I was surprised by the action so it made me instantly annoyed. Aaron knows both of those things so as the cow continued to touch my face he got more and more angry. Finally, he stood up, ready to punch the cow if necessary. The cow got the hint as Aaron headed his direction. He still decided to give Aaron an awkward hug before walking away, not cool cow, not cool.

The End.

Today is my Friday=Happy Thoughts

Tomorrow is Good Friday so thanks to working for a religious institution I get it as a holiday. Just another perk to working for people that love Jesus. Because it is my Friday my boss said our office could wear jeans. Just another perk to working for someone who loves comfort. However, this caused a slight dilemma at my house this morning. I pulled out my jeans and my new chambray shirt that I have been lusting, er, desiring really wanting and one of my favorite sweaters. I have been picturing this outfit for months now and I can finally put it together. Decision time: do I wear it today when only my co-workers will see me or do I save it for tomorrow when the only people that will see me are my Realtor and some random people at the mall? These are the tough questions people...TOUGH. Obviously, I called in my spouse. He said, wear it today because more people will see you and we will just be relaxing tomorrow.Really? Are you sure? Yes. So, I went with it. I feel totally cute and would like to show the world. I guess my hair stylist at my appointment tonight will work. At least, she will say I look cute, I hope.....I hope my husband realizes that I will put as much effort into looking "relaxed" tomorrow as I did this morning, for the people at the mall tomorrow, because they matter.....*sigh* probably should just let that go.....

Some observations:

Yesterday I noticed a mailbox with a bird house attached to the top of it. Isn't that a LITTLE dangerous for the "mail carrier" (is that gender neutral term?).

Just a thought....

People with the "coexist" bumper sticker seem to be really aggressive drivers, at least the cars I have been behind, ironic?

The "Ice on Bridge" sign has been flashing for the last three days during my commute. It is 47 degrees outside=there is NO ice on this bridge....how will I know when there really IS ice? Hmmmm...

Happy Easter!

Heat Bringing Happiness

It has been and will continue to be very busy here at work. Normally about this time Spring is in the air and I can sense that summer is just around the corner. Not today. Not this week. Not even this month. What have we been experiencing instead? Snow.


Yep. That's what it looked like this past weekend when I celebrated my sister's upcoming marriage by throwing her a shower and also celebrated our birthday. And no, I am not speaking in third person. I share my date of birth with my previously mentioned sister. Sidenote: It is such a blessing to have a twin sister who is also your best friend.

Anyway, normally about this time I start to get excited for the summer. Not because it will change my routine like it did in my school days but simply because I remember how it changed my routine in my school days. I remember those April days during the standardized testing while I was being home-schooled with my siblings. April, and standardized testing meant morning walks with mom and relaxed mornings of testing. We weren't quite done with lessons for the school year, but we were close. I knew that a summer full of reading books and riding bikes and a family vacation were in my future. I get excited because of my memories. I remember in High School April meant that you watched a lot of movies in class because the teachers were just as ready as you were to be done with school. In college it meant that I had 3 months of virtually no hard thinking in my future. These days it means nothing. Well, that's not quite true. It means that our utility bill will go down because we won't have to crank up the heat. It also means my husband and I can enjoy outdoor activities  Both are very good things. In addition sunshine makes even driving to and from work better. But, for right now I am rejoicing in two things:
1. A rotating heater in the women's bathroom
2. The heater that is now under my desk making it possible for my toes to not freeze

Spring for a Day

The temperature today is supposed to reach 80 degrees. Love. It will not warm up again until later next week so basically we better enjoy it today, even as we fight the gale force winds bringing in the cold air for tomorrow. Unfortunate.



Last night I nearly had a melt down because my egg mixture was oozing out of my crescent roll soufflé...Yes, I was THAT ridiculous. My husband kept repeating "It's okay, it's not a big deal, it's okay." Finally, at a loss for my apparent total lack of emotional control he said, " Did something else happen today?" To which I replied, "No!" providing the impression that I may have just jumped off the deep end. Sensing that reason had left the building he calmly went to take shower. This left me with my own thoughts as I attempted to figure out what the heck just happened. Stress. Stress just happened. I have a lot on my plate right now and apparently oozing egg was enough to push me over the edge....dumb. You know why I am stressed? Because I am afraid. Afraid of not being perfect and working everything out perfectly. Also, dumb. I wish I had an inspirational word right here about how to fix my insecurities but as I am still very much in progress I guess I will just have to say that I praise God  for grace and a patient spouse as I work to grow into the confident, secure, gracious woman God desires me to be. But you know what? It IS okay. This morning I was reminded of one of my FAVORITE songs as a tween:

Click on the title to listen on Youtube: Rebecca St. James- OK




Go Rebecca St. James! At 13 I pretty much wanted to be her. Anyways....

This morning on my drive in to work I discovered a bleeding, pin sized wound on my finger that I have no recollection of inflicting....kind of like the red spot I discovered on my forehead last night. Seriously, that is why I always have to work extra hard to not bump into things during shorts season. I always look like a 10 year old because I manage to bruise or scratch my legs. 

Happy Friday Everyone!

Fuzzy Mornings

Every year I dread the Spring time change. My body refuses to let me go to sleep at night and takes forever to begin functioning in the morning. This makes for various near errors like nearly using the body wash as shampoo, or putting the clothes in the dryer and walking away, forgetting to turn it on....thankfully, I have a husband willing to pick up my slack. I am even more blessed that he doesn't even comment on it. 

We began house hunting this weekend which culminated in a second visit to a home that had me feeling like I was waiting in line to go on Wildfire at Silver Dollar City.

This period of life is making me feel excited and "I feel like I might be sick" nervous at the same time. It is such a huge decision. Like choosing a wedding dress but you live with it every day instead of one day of your life. Also, it is SO expensive. Wow....

In other news I have discovered a Disney station on Pandora and may I say listening to "Be a Man" from Mulan makes the whole day better. It also makes me wish I was listening to it in my car by myself so I could belt out the words with enthusiasm (because I literally know ALL of them)...that seems like it would help relieve some stress...

Office Accidents

Well, it has been over a week since my last post and I am still not sure that I have anything interesting to write about. So, what has been happening in my life you ask? Not a whole lot....

The most exciting thing to happen all month happened last night while I was hanging out with my husband at the office because he had to work a little late. He was working and I was watching reality tv online when the fire alarm began to sound, VERY loudly. We paused, and looked at each other....shocked. "What do we do?" I said, as all of my fire drill training left my brain. Thankfully, he knew what to do. "We will go ahead and leave and take the stairs out." See, I totally would have taken the elevator and died. So, that's what we did. We gathered all of our stuff (including my cupcake perched precariously on a little plate) and headed out the door. Everyone else on our floor seemed equally stunned. They were all standing in the lobby and staring at one another commenting, "Well, we know it works." Brilliant comment, somebody always has to say it....They followed us down the stairs (I was still clutching my cupcake). A few people were just going to stand outside until the alarms stopped but we just headed to the car and home (I ate my cupcake in the car to prevent mishaps).

I also experienced an office worker accident yesterday. There are several kinds of office worker injuries in my experience:

1.  Running into the sharp corner of your desk
2.  Bumping your shins on an open file drawer
3.  Banging your knees against your desk
4. Paper cuts
5.  File/cardboard cuts
6. Being grabbed ruthlessly by the hanging folder as its weight causes it to fall out of your hand into the drawer and takes a chunk of your thumb with it as it falls.....you can guess which one happened to me....

Happy Friday eve everyone!

Trials of Tuesday

Today I have done numerous awkward things:

1. I tripped in an empty hallway by stubbing my toe on a perfectly flat surface. I then began to walk faster as though that would wipe away the stumble....why do we do that? How does speed walking after a stumble or running up the stairs after tripping make it better....Maybe no one will notice my lack of coordination if I do what I just failed doing REALLY fast....nice try...
2. I took a computer class and when the instructor asked if anyone had questions avoided eye contact and looked down at my screen...why do we do that? I don't HAVE to ask a question if she catches my eye, this is not elementary school, she doesn't expect me to ask anything if I don't have a question....everyone else was doing the same thing.....strange.
3. When I was leaving the class I began to reach for the wrong door in the hallway and immediately sped up my reach for the correct door handle....does that mean no one will notice my lack of concentration as I chose the wrong one and swerved? Probably not....
4. I also walked faster to avoid the awkward "Do I hold the door for them or not" moment. You know, when you aren't sure if you are too far ahead to hold the door but then you don't know what they expect so you stand there for what feels like forever holding the door and it is awkward. To avoid that I sped walked so there would be NO doubt that I was too far ahead to hold the door. Is that rude? I don't know. I just know that when people hold the door for me for a long time I feel compelled to walk faster and it is awkward. So, you are welcome.

Valentine's Day...

Today, is Valentine's Day. Each year I try to remember what was done the year before. My husband and I couldn't even remember what we did last year. I finally remembered that he dropped off one of those blooming cards from the Hallmark store. It is still sitting on my desk. It reminds me of his thoughtfulness. Unfortunately,  I remember NOTHING else from that day. Weird. I also remember all of those years of being single on Valentine's Day. I remember all of those posts on Facebook from people telling all the single girls not to feel bad, Jesus is your valentine! Uhm, that's great. Thanks. Enjoy your date with your boyfriend. I also wanted to tell the world something else. I AM OKAY WITH BEING SINGLE ON VALENTINE'S DAY! Seriously. I don't have angst...I don't wish for a boyfriend...Jesus is enough but I don't need him to be "my valentine". I was okay because Jesus is enough EVERY DAY. He is enough for me right now, even though I am married and "my valentine" is my wonderful husband. God still holds my heart in His hands and I am His completely. He just joined my heart with that of my husband.

I enjoy Valentine's Day. I have since I was a little girl and Valentine's Day meant a special dinner with the family followed by exchanging cards, receiving of pajamas (odd tradition but we loved it) and a whole lotta laughter. I just felt loved. Time had been taken to make me feel that way. I get frustrated with people that say that Valentine's Day is stupid, that guys should show their love every day, that it is just for the greeting card companies....I say, take the time to realize you are loved. You are loved by God, you are loved by your family, you are loved by your friends. Enjoy it. It doesn't matter if you are single and you are going out with your girlfriends, if you are single and you are spending it alone, or if you are in a relationship. Don't let ANYONE tell you that you should feel a certain way or even just ignore the day. It is okay to experience that twinge of " I wish I was in a relationship". It doesn't mean you are less of a person. It doesn't mean you love God any less because you don't want Jesus to be your only valentine. It means you are human. Embrace it. However, take a moment and realize that you are loved by the Creator of the Universe, passionately. Then you will feel better. Then eat chocolate.

So, what are my husband and I doing for Valentine's Day? I can't tell you because it is not appropriate for blogging. But I will tell you this. I thank my God for love!

Claustrophobia

This week is "Spiritual Emphasis" week at my place of employment. This means we have chapel every morning at 8:00 am so you better get here early or you will be the person everyone sighs, roll their eyes, and begrudgingly stands up for so you can find a seat. The situation is not improved by having the majority of the back rows cordoned off. In addition, people save seats by placing hymnals spread eagle on them. In my opinion, this is cheating. There is never anyone guarding these "held" seats so basically the fact that I work for a Christian organization is the only reason that method is working. People could totally just move the books but their conscience would smote them later so they are polite and leave them. I leave them, because I am a polite rule follower, but I am annoyed.

When everyone stood for worship the people on either side of me raised their arms in praise. That is when I thought, " If there's a fire I could die, people would trample me, there are too many people in here, I don't have any space, I can't move my arms without touching someone...." Claustrophobic. Thankfully the person on my right almost immediately realized the situation and lowered their arm because they are considerate. The person to my left, in addition to having their arm in my space, began to sway(church dance).....awkward.

Upon sitting down for the sermon the person on my left sank down into her seat, propped one knee on the chair in front of her and proceed to stretch her leg under the seat in front of me. The person behind me, apparently suffering from a cold and lack of a Kleenex began to suck their snot, LOUDLY. This was accompanied by the individual a few seats over hacking up their lungs. The germs were coming for me, I could feel it.

The good news? I get to do this all week.....

Normal Monday

This morning I pushed the snooze button one more time and then woke up 10 minutes later than when the alarm was supposed to go off again....I still don't know what happened, but it was good. I love sleep.

My husband and I are sharing a car again today as his car is once again at the shop. There is nothing like the feeling that little "check engine" light on the dashboard inspires within me....GAH!!! Come on!!!

 Yep. That's what it feels like.

That Antique Festival of the Ozarks met my expectations. It was a lot of fun and totally worth the $5 fee we paid so we could go spend money. We came home with a couple of cool items and even a little bit of cash left in our pockets. Basically, this was because nothing good was under $10 dollars. That evening I took in some "Antiques Road Show" and felt that my day was complete.




Happy Monday everyone!

Colds Are Disgusting

The changing weather has got me at last. All week I have been fighting a sore throat and fever. Last night I turned out the light and just as I was drifting off to sleep I choked on my own *ahem* snot...ewww, gross! This is what I felt like:



I quickly sat up, choking and gasping...."thankfully" my husband's peaceful slumber remained undisturbed by my near death experience. As a result of this "drainage" I slept with two pillows all night so I could be propped up and avoid a similar experience. Usually this means I will make weird noises but I never woke myself up so who's to say?

In more exciting news this weekend is the Antique Festival of the Ozarks!

 

My husband and I plan to be right in there with all those senior citizens looking for cool stuff to decorate our house. It will most likely be awesome. You should go.

Mid-week Musings

On Tuesday I killed a small beetle that was making its way across my desk. Am I the only person who has some anxiety after killing an insect that it will suddenly come back to life in a larger form and attack me the moment I go to pick it up with a Kleenex? Or, that its friends will discover its death and surprise attack me? Irrational you say? Have YOU ever had an insect come back to life after you thought it was dead? OR, what is worse, not be there anymore when you return with a Kleenex? Trust me, it will keep you looking over your shoulder ALL day....

On another note, I felt that I had put together a particularly cute outfit yesterday and received no positive feedback=LET DOWN....I hate it when that happens...

For all of those viewers of Downton Abbey out there: Are we supposed to like Mary? She is annoying.



I would like to say for those of you that view the Bachelor that my expectations for drama have been met and exceeded.


YES.

Hang in there!

Another COLD day in the office. My fingernails are purple. Also, it was discovered that the women's restroom in the now vacated office across the way is warmer than the supposedly " heated" bathroom downstairs. That's just sad.

This morning I spent THIRTY minutes trying to get an envelope to print from the correct tray with my address on it. As soon as I asked for help I discovered that it was on the wrong setting and I had only made it worse by messing with it. Basically, it was an easy fix and my frustration was clearly clouding my vision. Dang it....

On the upside, I am looking forward to my lunch (leftovers from last night's dinner). It is wonderful and pathetic at the same time how looking forward to my lunch can brighten my day....this feeling is what helped the Daniel Fast be so difficult.

Yesterday, Facebook blew up with people excited about the snow. I wanted to ask, " Really? Have you SEEN Springfieldians drive in the snow and rain?" Not something to be excited about. Sitting at home in your cozy chair with a good book and some hot chocolate? Fine, get excited. Sitting at work preparing to drive home in Springfield traffic? You have no excuse.

It's Friday, 17 degrees outside, and it's a good day. Hang in there! Happy weekend everyone.

Mid-week Thoughts

It has been a pretty slow week in the office. More funny scholarship photos, stupid questions and paperwork. On Monday the office was FREEZING. My hands had trouble typing I was so cold. When I took my lunch break in the "break room" I went to close the blinds, hoping that they might stop some of the cold air seeping in through the windows. When I closed the second blind *something* jumped out at me and landed on my pant leg. I gave a tiny shriek and danced around until I saw nothing on my leg. Then I saw that it was a flying beetle that was now on the carpet. I assumed, dead. In order to avoid the creepy creature I moved all of my stuff on the table in front of the other chair and began to walk around the table in the other direction. That's when the same insect jumped out at me AGAIN from its resting place on the chair which I had moved to sit in. Again, I shrieked. This time I killed it. Squashed it hard with my shoe. Then I moved my stuff again so I could sit in a chair and keep my eye on the window in case anything else was after me.

I also discovered on Monday that the temperature control unit in the hallway for the entrance I walk in and out of everyday was not working. After putting in a request for it to be fixed I was informed that it had gone out before they thought it would but they wouldn't be fixing it until APRIL because that is when they had budgeted to put in a new system. It is gonna be a chilly greeting for me until spring.

Last night I had an unpleasant reminder of how my insecurities are still so prevalent in my mind. I know I am not alone in my struggle for complete confidence and finding my self-worth in Christ alone. 26 years and I still listen to the lies that I am too skinny, not good enough, not smart enough, not godly enough. ENOUGH.

My husbands affirming words and actions are not the fix for my insecurity and doubt. ONLY God fills the void and and while my husband is being used by God to heal my wounds ONLY God can make me whole.

Psalm 45:10-12

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
    Forget your people and your father’s house.
¹¹ Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
    honor him, for he is your lord.

So, it's Monday

Had a wonderful weekend with family and didn't want it to end! Can I say the breakfast buffet at Hemingway's was the PERFECT way to end a 21 day Daniel fast. I must also admit that my stomach was NOT thanking me but it was totally worth it. This week we go back to regular eating habits but we will definitely do our best to continue to eat fruits and vegetables and curb our sugar intake.

On Saturday we drove out to Reed's Springs to sample the Reed's Springs Pizza Company (voted #1 pizza place in MO by USA Today) but we almost couldn't find it. After passing a home proudly sporting the confederate flag and a rifle we had second thoughts about our directions. We turned around and plugged the location into the GPS which saved the day! The pizza place was full of local character and characters and a VERY small bathroom. Great food! Saturday afternoon we hung out at the apartment and while I was preparing dinner my family was enjoying "The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle". A classic film that shouldn't be missed!

 
My husband took a few moments to take out the trash, which seemed to take longer than it usually does. I heard him come in and then I heard what sounded like an armful of metal pipes falling to the ground. Turning to discover the source of the noise I found him grinning sheepishly and toting what appeared to be an exercise machine he had found by the dumpster. Upon his discovery he had pulled it around behind the dumpster in order to avoid being seen while he tested it for problems. It worked just fine and is now in residence in our apartment. We are going to miss the dumpster when we move into a house this year....the source of so many good things that other people are too lazy to move. Although, we still feel a little ridiculous...

Ahhh, Friday

Friday at last. Short weeks often feel the longest. Last day of the Daniel fast and that feels great. My tummy probably won't love me when this weekend is over but my senses will be happy. I was planning my meals for next week so I can go grocery shopping tomorrow and I was doing a little research on the new breakfast sandwiches that Special K have recently begun selling. Google got the message, just not clearly:

I am not Spanish or Spanish speaking, despite my last name....thanks Google ads.....nice try

Last night my husband and I went to the Library to pick up some DVDs for the weekend. He discovered a show he watched as a child:



Pretty cool. I had never heard of this show but it was entertaining. Almost as good as MacGyver:


Yep, this is what we watch in our household. Manly 80's shows. I know you are jealous. Happy Friday!

Friday Eve

Only two more days and the Daniel Fast is completed! The cravings have never stopped they just lessened a little. Last night I wanted chocolate REALLY badly. What did I eat? Cashews. 48 hours....

Yesterday, my boss took the office for frozen yogurt. Was it cheating? Yes. Did I feel badly? Nope. There is no way I was going to pass up on FREE frozen yogurt and I wasn't about to go watch everyone else eat it. My sacrifice was not smothering it in candy as I usually do, thereby eliminating any part of it that is "healthier" than ice-cream. When my boss asked me "Don't you put anything on top?" I had a moment of indecision  Do I tell her, "Yes, usually I cover this sucker in chocolate sprinkles, reeses pieces, and Oreo crumbs, but I am fasting so I can't." This sounded ridiculous in my head so instead I stood there, thinking it through, awkwardly...finally I said, "uhm, no." without conviction. Tonight is veggie burgers and I am excited like it is hot fudge sundae night.

At work I am in the process of administering two scholarships. I am amazed by the pictures submitted for a press release should they win. One student directed me to her facebook page. Uhm, really? No. I told her she needed to send me her photo as an attachment. I also wanted to say, " the whole world is not 17, please act accordingly." I have also received cropped photos from award ceremonies with somebody else's shoulder right next to their face...that's what you would want in the newspaper, huh? Well, alright....amazing...

Last night I dreamed I was back in High School. When I woke up I was so happy to be an adult. Then, I thought, I wonder what my current friends were like in High School. Would we have talked? Been friends? I already know that my husband and I would not have spoken. He was popular and I wouldn't have got a second look with my crazy curly hair and braces. There are a few that I think I would have connected with but several who would not have talked to me. It is so nice what adulthood does for leveling the field and bringing maturity....for most people ;)

Happy Friday Eve!

Almost There...

I opened my eyes on Saturday and was questioning my reason for getting of bed due to the fact there would be no coffee. I inwardly groaned at the thought of getting out of bed and curling up on this cold morning with a cold cup of water and a banana. I know this may sound pathetic but you try going 2 weeks and counting with no warming beverage in the month of January and see what motivates you! However, just one more week! Yay! Almost there....

I was VERY happy to have a 3 day weekend. I was NOT happy that my husband had to work all day on Saturday. After bringing him his lunch at about 12:00 (I did get all of the laundry done before leaving the house=10 bonus points to me) I, of course, planned to stay until he was done. Neither one of us guessed it would take 3 hours longer to finish the job than anticipated. So, while he worked I watched tv online and read. I still felt like I had been working all afternoon. Weird. Poor guy. Thankfully he took Monday off so we could spend the holiday together and relax. On Monday I watched a Miss Marple (Agatha Christie mystery novel character) mystery wherein they completely changed the outcome. Not the identity of the murderer but what happened to the characters after the murderer was caught. I was extremely confused. However, I save my outrage for movie adaptations of the Narnia Chronicles. I have never seen so much license taken with beloved stories. Why? Those stories are perfect! Outrage. I also caught up on season 3 of Downton Abby. Why did I sit for 4 hours to catch up on this series? So that I could too could understand references to various characters on Facebook and Pinterest and feel like a part of the culture, that's why. Was it good? Yes, yes it was. Did I have to resist the urge to speak like Maggie Smith's character when it was over (sarcasm with sophistication)? Yes, yes I did. Then next time someone asks me if I have seen Downton I can say, YES! YES I HAVE! Success.

Radio Trouble

This morning I rode to work in silence. This was not by choice however, my radio has gone out. A few months ago the husband and I had car trouble. It started with his car on a business trip. Then after a few weeks of trips back and forth to the mechanic my car began having issues. Apparently, it missed "B" (the name for his car) and wanted to spend more quality time at the mechanic. Some months prior to this the cd player had ceased to work in my vehicle. I still had the radio which supplied my needed NPR fix in the mornings. There  is just something so grown up about listening to NPR on your way to work with your coffee in your travel mug. Anyway, the buttons had always been a little sticky. This was reminiscent of my dad's radio after my brother threw up all over it when he was very young. Let's just say Christmas lights and Mexican food haven' t been the same since. I am not saying that the children of the previous owner threw up on my radio, I just tried not to think about it. Well, when I got my car back the radio didn't work at all. Regardless of this fact I still, months later, check the blank clock for the time.

To fix this problem of silence my husband bought me a travel speaker to hook my i-pod to for music. The first day I had it I pulled out too quickly from my apartment complex and the speaker, attached to my i-pod was thrown, with force, all the way across my car and slammed with a loud thud into the door on the passenger side. After this trauma it still continued to play. It was fine that day. In the days since it seems to have a mind of its own. A couple of days ago it simply wouldn't come on, instead the light would flicker and go out and nothing. The next morning, it came right on and played fine. The last couple of mornings it will play the first song great and then suddenly the vocalists sound like they are a choir of 13 year old boys whose voices are changing and cracking simultaneously. It will usually play okay on the ride home, just needing to be picked up and set back down when it gets crackly...so weird.I am one of those strange people that need music to concentrate. If I don't have music my mind wanders. This car silence has resulted in too many of those moments right after going through a light when you think, " I don't remember seeing the light change, but the cars in front of me were going...that is so scary." Now, I could go buy a radio/cd/i-pod player but right now I just don't want to spend the money. Frankly, I prefer putting money in savings and buying groceries. Don't worry, I will get one, eventually....